Several Combat Questions

Hi, I have some question for you, Ratbeard. If you can answer these thanks! :)

1. How big of an effect does Spooky have on powers, like how much of a bonus does it grant and how much does everyone start with/have without learning the Spooky talent or being naturally spooky.

2. How big of an effect do stats like Will have with chain Epics? I know chain Epics have a base 35% chance of triggering, but how big a bonus does having higher Agility/Will/Strength than your target grant?

3. Burst Fire, Relentless, and Mojo Echo 3 have an increased chance against wounded enemies. How much % is this increase?

4. How much of a buff/debuff do the rank 3 Epics give like with Riposte 3 and Overwatch 3? How much dodge is increased and how much accuracy is reduced?

5. Does Agility increase the damage of the initial hits from the bomb series (Hail of Cannonballs, etc.) and does it increase the damage from Powder Monkey's Palisade?

6. (This may be more of a question for One-Eyed Jack). Is Blood Flames working as intended? It says x4 damage, but each flame only deals around 40 damage regardless of the user's or target(s) level.

2. How big of an effect do stats like Will have with chain Epics? I know chain Epics have a base 35% chance of triggering, but how big a bonus does having higher Agility/Will/Strength than your target grant?

Up to +25%.

3. Burst Fire, Relentless, and Mojo Echo 3 have an increased chance against wounded enemies. How much % is this increase?

Up to +25%.

4. How much of a buff/debuff do the rank 3 Epics give like with Riposte 3 and Overwatch 3? How much dodge is increased and how much accuracy is reduced?

Riposte/Return Fire: +15 Dodge per trigger

Overwatch/Repel Boarders: -50% Accuracy (per hit)

5. Does Agility increase the damage of the initial hits from the bomb series (Hail of Cannonballs, etc.) and does it increase the damage from Powder Monkey's Palisade?

Yes. No. Once I've summoned those barrels, there's not a lot of opportunity for me to aim 'em, now is there?

6. Is Blood Flames working as intended? It says x4 damage, but each flame only deals around 40 damage regardless of the user's or target(s) level.

I don't believe that Blood Flames is currently working as intended. It's working as intended on my working copy of the game-- but I don't think that fix has made into a patch, yet. One Eyed Jack can answer that for you!

6. Is Blood Flames working as intended? It says x4 damage, but each flame only deals around 40 damage regardless of the user's or target(s) level.

I don't believe that Blood Flames is currently working as intended. It's working as intended on my working copy of the game-- but I don't think that fix has made into a patch, yet. One Eyed Jack can answer that for you!

Yup! The Blood Flames Power is undergoing a bit of a change in one of our upcoming updates to the game, but that change has not made it to the live game yet.

I have one more question if you can answer it, I'd really appreciate it.

Before the MB and AQ update, you confirmed that Witchdoctors were going to receive Mojo Echo, can you give us an idea of what another class will be receiving, preferably the Musketeer class? :P If that would fall under what could be considered "telling," I understand.

I'll see if I can slip this past him-- though it does not answer your question directly (because I suspect you're more interested in your own character than your companions...):

You know how Bonnie Anne (a musketeer) got "Stock Assault" at her highest level promotion, giving her a crossover melee power for her arsenal?

That's a design direction I intend to pursue further with all of the main companions, giving each one some kind of crossover power-- so, for example, Sarah Steele might someday throw some daggers, Hawkules might rip up a huge boulder from the ground and hurl it, and so on. I'd like for each class to have at least one option to change their attack style.

As for player characters, we have some new "talent" code that makes talent ranks easier to use, so you should expect to see many more places where you can pick up extra ranks of all your talents (as well as talents you don't normally have access to... as well as some brand new talents... as well as REDACTED

I'll see if I can slip this past him-- though it does not answer your question directly (because I suspect you're more interested in your own character than your companions...):

You know how Bonnie Anne (a musketeer) got "Stock Assault" at her highest level promotion, giving her a crossover melee power for her arsenal?

That's a design direction I intend to pursue further with all of the main companions, giving each one some kind of crossover power-- so, for example, Sarah Steele might someday throw some daggers, Hawkules might rip up a huge boulder from the ground and hurl it, and so on. I'd like for each class to have at least one option to change their attack style.

As for player characters, we have some new "talent" code that makes talent ranks easier to use, so you should expect to see many more places where you can pick up extra ranks of all your talents (as well as talents you don't normally have access to... as well as some brand new talents... as well as REDACTED

Hawkules' Boulder could be a line attack, like a Snap Shot (eventually building up to Uncanny Shot), since a boulder would not slow down much from hitting the first person in line.

I'll see if I can slip this past him-- though it does not answer your question directly (because I suspect you're more interested in your own character than your companions...):

You know how Bonnie Anne (a musketeer) got "Stock Assault" at her highest level promotion, giving her a crossover melee power for her arsenal?

That's a design direction I intend to pursue further with all of the main companions, giving each one some kind of crossover power-- so, for example, Sarah Steele might someday throw some daggers, Hawkules might rip up a huge boulder from the ground and hurl it, and so on. I'd like for each class to have at least one option to change their attack style.

As for player characters, we have some new "talent" code that makes talent ranks easier to use, so you should expect to see many more places where you can pick up extra ranks of all your talents (as well as talents you don't normally have access to... as well as some brand new talents... as well as REDACTED

This question isn't really about combat, more of a personal question: What is your favorite power and skill/epic? Why are those your favorites?

I have a question for either Lucas or Ratbeard- it is something that I was just curious about. Lucas, I read your excellent guide on Stats and How They Work for Beginners over on central forums, (fantastic guide and info by the way), and I had a question about the individual classes primary stats.

In the guide it states that only Musketeers & Swashbucklers benefit from the Agility stat, only Buccaneers and some Privateers benefit from the Strength stat and only Witchdoctors and Privateers benefit from the Will primary stat. Earlier in the thread/guide it states that "The main stats can also decrease the amount of damage you take from the enemy using the corresponding stat." So, my question(s) are as follows: (They all kind of go together)

1] Does this mean that, for example, only a Musk. or Swash. will benefit from lower damage numbers (on Agility based attacks from enemies w/ Agility as primary stat) if they use an Agility buffing power or equipped gear with bonuses to Agility? Or are the benefits in lowered damage intake distributed class wide, with Musketeers and Swashbucklers being the recipients of a greater benefit due to their already high Agility?

2] If a Buccaneer doesn't benefit from the Agility stat, will boosting it's Agility (either by powers or gear) have no effect on damage #s dished out from a Swashbuckler or Musketeer- of whom Agility is their primary stat. Or will a Buccaneer boosting Agility still bring those damage #s down a bit due to the boost in Agility, thus making an Agility buffing power or Agility boosting gear beneficial to them...albeit on a small scale?

3] If using a power or gear to boost/buff another classes primary stats does have any benefit in lowering damage numbers (from a class that doesn't share the same primary stat), are the benefits too small for it to be worth even using those boosting/buffing powers and gear?

and 4] Am I making any sense at all?

Again, I am just curious to know as much about the stats (especially benefits and negatives of primary stats via boosting/buffing) as possible. Both of you, Lucas and Ratbeard (of course), seem to be a great source of info and knowledge in this area and I would like to soak up as much as possible to have a better understanding of stats, powers, boosts and buffs.

Like I said, Lucas- awesome guide over on central- extremely helpful and well done! Thanks for sharing it and for the great questions and thank you Ratbeard for providing us with such helpful and informative answers!

This question isn't really about combat, more of a personal question: What is your favorite power and skill/epic? Why are those your favorites?

My favorite epic right now is Riposte 3. And you haven't even seen my favorite power (yet).

Valkoor, it is always useful to buff your stats, for defense if for no other reason. If I buff Bonnie Anne's Strength, though she cannot use it offensively, it will definitely lower the effectiveness of Str-based enemies that attack her.

There is not a fixed amount of stat that is useful or not, because the calculation is comparative. More is better. With the changes to the stat buffs recently, fortunately you don't have to think too much about it. Your buff will buff all your companions who *do* use that stat to attack, and as a bonus effect, it will also (defensively) buff all adjacent companions, regardless of what stat they use to attack.

We have some UI improvements coming that will make it a little easier for you guys to see stats in action-- but those UI changes are coming with some more fundamental changes to combat that will make some of Central's excellent guides outdated on some points.

Jack will have the basics covered for most players, but I am sure some of you guys will have some more in-depth questions. I'll be available for follow up questions, of course, to help get you guys back on track.

My favorite epic right now is Riposte 3. And you haven't even seen my favorite power (yet).

Valkoor, it is always useful to buff your stats, for defense if for no other reason. If I buff Bonnie Anne's Strength, though she cannot use it offensively, it will definitely lower the effectiveness of Str-based enemies that attack her.

There is not a fixed amount of stat that is useful or not, because the calculation is comparative. More is better. With the changes to the stat buffs recently, fortunately you don't have to think too much about it. Your buff will buff all your companions who *do* use that stat to attack, and as a bonus effect, it will also (defensively) buff all adjacent companions, regardless of what stat they use to attack.

We have some UI improvements coming that will make it a little easier for you guys to see stats in action-- but those UI changes are coming with some more fundamental changes to combat that will make some of Central's excellent guides outdated on some points.

Jack will have the basics covered for most players, but I am sure some of you guys will have some more in-depth questions. I'll be available for follow up questions, of course, to help get you guys back on track.

My favorite epic right now is Riposte 3. And you haven't even seen my favorite power (yet).

Valkoor, it is always useful to buff your stats, for defense if for no other reason. If I buff Bonnie Anne's Strength, though she cannot use it offensively, it will definitely lower the effectiveness of Str-based enemies that attack her.

There is not a fixed amount of stat that is useful or not, because the calculation is comparative. More is better. With the changes to the stat buffs recently, fortunately you don't have to think too much about it. Your buff will buff all your companions who *do* use that stat to attack, and as a bonus effect, it will also (defensively) buff all adjacent companions, regardless of what stat they use to attack.

We have some UI improvements coming that will make it a little easier for you guys to see stats in action-- but those UI changes are coming with some more fundamental changes to combat that will make some of Central's excellent guides outdated on some points.

Jack will have the basics covered for most players, but I am sure some of you guys will have some more in-depth questions. I'll be available for follow up questions, of course, to help get you guys back on track.

Thank you once again Ratbeard...another fantastically thorough and helpful answer from you. I, and all of us here, definitely appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to enlighten us and to share your time and wisdom about the ins and outs of the game. I am excited to see some of those improvements that you are referring to, and the seeing stats in action comment sounds great as well. So, again thank you.

My favorite epic right now is Riposte 3. And you haven't even seen my favorite power (yet).

Valkoor, it is always useful to buff your stats, for defense if for no other reason. If I buff Bonnie Anne's Strength, though she cannot use it offensively, it will definitely lower the effectiveness of Str-based enemies that attack her.

There is not a fixed amount of stat that is useful or not, because the calculation is comparative. More is better. With the changes to the stat buffs recently, fortunately you don't have to think too much about it. Your buff will buff all your companions who *do* use that stat to attack, and as a bonus effect, it will also (defensively) buff all adjacent companions, regardless of what stat they use to attack.

We have some UI improvements coming that will make it a little easier for you guys to see stats in action-- but those UI changes are coming with some more fundamental changes to combat that will make some of Central's excellent guides outdated on some points.

Jack will have the basics covered for most players, but I am sure some of you guys will have some more in-depth questions. I'll be available for follow up questions, of course, to help get you guys back on track.

Can we expect critical strike music for ranged units and is there a reason why they are without critical music?

Will we see higher ranked Epics and talents like Elusive Rank 4 or Relentless Rank 4? For higher ranked Epics would they still retain the bonuses granted at their third ranks?

Can we hopefully see something that will allow Musketeer plays to make better use of their high accuracy and Double-Tap 2? Since our powers cannot miss and do not trigger Epics, a power that uses our accuracy or something would be really nice to see.

What is Blood flames supposed to do? Is it supposed to be a stronger version of Scatter Pike or a stronger version of Zeena's Rain of Fire? If so, would it's damage be based on health or would it have a set damage-range that'd increase with the wielder's level?

Will power series ever go past 3? For example, there is Rain of Mortarshells, Hail of Cannonballs, and Tempest of Torpedos, will series like these ever have more powers added to them or is 3 the maximum limit?

Is the Armor Penetration in Pirate101 the same as Wizard101's? For example some weapons have a pierce rating of 30% against an enemy with say 50 Armor, would that be -30% of their Armor or -30 Armor like in Wizard101? Can we expect to see Armor Penetration on magical ranged weapons?

Will we receive a stronger version of the Ol' Quigley? It's base range of 5 makes it a very useful weapon and I'd love to have a stronger version of it.

Since Hold the Line is exclusively for melee units and Witch Hunter is exclusively for Witchdoctor companions or magical companions, is there an Epic solely for Musketeers? Would that Epic happen to be Covering Fire or is that exclusive to the radicals?

Will Witchdoctor units have their own version of Crossfire and Flanking?

If I recall correctly there were a lot of tough camera issues to solve with ranged units (e.g. "bullet time") which is why there's no special crit animations for ranged. It's something our tech team could probably, eventually solve, but it doesn't seem like a great investment of resources.

Will we see higher ranked Epics?

Yes.

Can we see something that will allow Musketeers to make better use of their high accuracy?

Accuracy is doing more than you think. There is no such thing as a "dump stat" in P101. There will always be, unfortunately, some combat calculations that are too complex to put in front of the players, as they would just end up frustrating casual players.

What is Blood flames supposed to do?

Circle back and ask me after it's finally fixed.

Will power series ever go past 3?

Probably not.

Is the Armor Penetration in P01 the same as W101?

No.

Can we expect to see AP on magical ranged weapons?

Maybe.

Will we receive a stronger version of the Ol' Quigley?

You'll receive stronger versions of long range muskets.

Since Hold the Line is exclusively for melee units and Witch Hunter is exclusively for Witchdoctors or magical companions, is there an Epic solely for Musketeers?

Witch Hunter isn't exclusive to WD or magical companions. By happenstance more than design, that's where it tends to end up. But there are a couple of other companions that have it.

That may answer your second question-- "Each class should have an exclusive talent!" is not a design goal, so there's no particular reason to think that Musketeers should or would get one.

A better example is Turn the Tide. That is exclusive to Buccaneers, by design. That does not necessarily mean that any other class will get an exclusive talent.

Will Witchdoctor units have their own version of Crossfire/Flanking?

It's called "Doomspell"-- you just haven't seen it before. I'll make sure to expose it on a WD companion or two.

How does the game choose which target will be hit with Mojo Echo when activated by an AoE? How does the game choose which units are hit by things like Double-Tap and Bladestorm? Is it totally random or based on how much Agility, Will, or Strength the probable targets are?

How does the game choose which target will be hit with Mojo Echo when activated by an AoE? How does the game choose which units are hit by things like Double-Tap and Bladestorm? Is it totally random or based on how much Agility, Will, or Strength the probable targets are?

i think he has mentioned this before in another post, just like glancing blow, its randomized